Will I ever be able to pick up my baby after my fusion?
I know that I will have restrictions on how much weight I will be allowed to carry but what about my baby? I am not talking about holding him anytime soon but what about in 5 months from now? I will have to be able to get him out of his car seat when I have no one there to help me and he weighs 20 lbs. Does anyone have any advice from experience? Melinda
Re: Will I ever be able to pick up my baby after my fusion?
Melinda:
My heart goes out to you! I know the exact feeling, I'm contimplating a 2 level fusion myself. Numerous things are holding me back, but my 20 1/2 month old daughter is the main hold-up. I don't have answers for you, but if you read a few of my threads a lot of great people have given some really wonderful ideas. I wish you luck, and peace of mind. You'll manage one way or the other!
~M~
Re: Will I ever be able to pick up my baby after my fusion?
I am just so afraid that I will do something that will mess everything up! I am surrounded with alot of help for the next few months, but what happens after that??? Thank you for your reply and I wish you well! Melinda
Re: Will I ever be able to pick up my baby after my fusion?
I had my 360 in the summer , my doctor said I could gingerly hold my 20 lb baby 6 wks out , Holding him close to my chest not picking him up from the floor position, and NOT bending at the waist. You will be able to hold your baby just not right away. I had to have exploratory surgery last week and was not to pick up the baby. So now he is 16 mos old and my hubby went to the store and he woke up so I rolled the highchair in his room , let down the rail and he climbed into his chair and climbed down from his chair on to the floor Did I mention he is a climber????????? I did it with three kids and only had help for a few days. It is hard but there are ways around things. Ask away if you have any questions and I can give you some other ideas . Oh and get the gopher/grabber thing from wal mart to pick things up off the floor. What a life saver.
shelley
Re: Will I ever be able to pick up my baby after my fusion?
Myspine, My husband has held him up to my chest so that I can hug on him and he always tries to lick on my face or suck on my chin!!! He is so cute! I am trying to get a realistic time frame of how long I will be needing all the help that I have. My mother-in-law said that she will stay as long as I need her, does 2 months sound like too little time? My husband goes back to working nights in February and I will be alone with 3 kids once she leaves, my mom lives close by but I do not want to overload her, I am staying with her right now as it is. It is the best place for me to be. I will check with my Doc to see what he says too. Melinda
Re: Will I ever be able to pick up my baby after my fusion?
If she can stay 2 months that would be great for you
The more help you can get the better off you will be able to heal.
I went back to work after 4 weeks and it really did suck I wish I could have had help longer. But 2 months is very realistic.
Keep Posting
shelley
Re: Will I ever be able to pick up my baby after my fusion?
The baby should be able to climb into the car and into the car seat with maybe a little push from you. I'm not sure how you would handle a grocery cart.
fly
Re: Will I ever be able to pick up my baby after my fusion?
i had my fusion in Oct and I picked up my dd after about 2 months in the normal way. She is real small though about 18lbs. Right after my surgery when I was alone, I kept her in the bouncer and or car seat and picked her up while laying down.
Re: Will I ever be able to pick up my baby after my fusion?
Hi there!
Just thought I'd add my 2 cents I had an Anterior Lumbar Fusion L4-L5 w/cages on June 30, 2004. So I'm about 6 months post op. Doing great. I have four boys ages 7 down to age 2. My youngest had a hard time not being "help" my me at first but it was a great opportunity for him and Dad to bond more. I would just sit on the floor and hold him. We taught our 1.5 yo how to climb in and out of his crib and carseat. I also would take the shopping cart right up to the sliding door of my van and he would climb out of his carseat right into the shopping cart. I did have a set back at 2.5 wks post op. I lifted the baby out of his crib and carried him downstairs. I did no damage to my surgery area just set myself back on recovery time about 2 weeks. I suggest to follow all the rules I wish I had done that! I was just being impatient and there was no one around to pick him up, so I decided to do it myself.
I would say it was 10-12 weeks before I could hold my youngest. He was over 20 lbs. I may have been able to hold him sooner, but it wasn't before 8 weeks, I'm sure. If you have someone to help you that'd be great.
Did I mention he is a climber????????? I did it with three kids and only had help for a few days. It is hard but there are ways around things. Ask away if you have any questions and I can give you some other ideas . Oh and get the gopher/grabber thing from wal mart to pick things up off the floor. What a life saver. 
I wish I could have had help longer. But 2 months is very realistic. 
I had an Anterior Lumbar Fusion L4-L5 w/cages on June 30, 2004. So I'm about 6 months post op. Doing great. I have four boys ages 7 down to age 2. My youngest had a hard time not being "help" my me at first but it was a great opportunity for him and Dad to bond more. I would just sit on the floor and hold him. We taught our 1.5 yo how to climb in and out of his crib and carseat. I also would take the shopping cart right up to the sliding door of my van and he would climb out of his carseat right into the shopping cart. I did have a set back at 2.5 wks post op. I lifted the baby out of his crib and carried him downstairs. I did no damage to my surgery area just set myself back on recovery time about 2 weeks. I suggest to follow all the rules 
